Decade battle and at my wits end.

by Bonnie
(Rochester NY)

I have had bad PMS since puberty. Around 20yrs old ( I'm now 31) I started to have allot of edema and water retention. It first started just around my period. High times of stress or when i had caffeine then came off. Then it got to be all the time..was 18lbs of fluid with swollen ankles included... along with a list of other symptoms.

I have constant water retention in quads, butt, low abs, back sides, calves, ankles and triceps. Sometimes to a point i feel stiff and hurt. Headaches. Cant lose fat on legs or lower abs. My skin is dry and littered with acne.The acne is very small, non white head, along my chest, shoulders and sometimes neck. The body blemishes are almost rash like. Wrinkles that shouldn't be there. Hair shedding, breaking and very slow growth. I have depression, anxiety and mood swings with allot of frustration. My motivation and confidence is nil. I feel like i cant even feel joy. Libido is non existent and I don't seem to appear to be able to get moist down there.

I have been working with a hormone balancing doctor. She really hasn't been any help.

My last nesting in May I had low progesterone. High estrogen. Low free testosterone. Low DHEA. Low thyroid conversion. High SHBG. Low Pregnonalone. When i had my 24 hour cortisol saliva test done last year when I was really bad it was through the roof. Glucose challenge indicated insulin resistance. It has gone down since. and the symptoms have improved somewhat. I was a red hot mess barely working then. Now i can function but I feel like crap.

My diet is clean. gluten and grain free 5-6 days a week.90% whole foods and allot of fiber/veggies. I limit water due to the swelling and water retention. The only thing that seems to aid it is simple carbs and sometimes sugar but I limit those. I wish i could exercise, I used to love it. Now if i exercise i get the swelling very bad, headache and am in the worst mood on earth. I have broken out in tears on a treadmill before. So I stopped.

I've addressed adrenals for 2 years. Didn't work. Pregnonolone made me swell more. DHEA made me swell and almost lose it. I hide and mentally overcome the mood swings 98% of the time thank god. Its exhausting though. I've done alkaline, blood type, vitamin/mineral deficiency, enzyme therapy and cleanses. Even IV therapy with Vitamin/B complex. I've tried progesterone at 20mg no cycle before and it helped and reversed everything at first. Two weeks later I fell back. Anything new I try my body responds well then after a few days reverts back but the progesterone was longer.

I stopped then started at day 14 on 40mg of Serenity progesterone. My symptoms returned with a vengeance. I lost half my hair even in a weekend. I made it through to now my second cycle starting on day 10 and 40 mg progesterone. I read Dr John Lee's work. I am admittedly very scared to go over this amount. He said it would take up to 3 cycles to trudge through this mess. I however had read through your site and a few others that said in order to change serum progesterone levels, you need 60mg-200mg per day. I was wondering about going that high disrupting the negative feedback loop.

I was also wondering how the progesterone will effect the other hormones. What is the best OTC progesterone? I know itll balance out the estrogen. I am however wondering how to address the low testosterone, high SHBG, and low thyroid. I just dont want to make myself worse again.

I have no idea what is up/down. All I know is i want these symptoms to go away. I know its horrid to say but its true. My husband has been so wonderful through this. I want to see an end of this for myself and him. If you could help, I would be grateful beyond words.

Comments for Decade battle and at my wits end.

It sounds like you are having a terrible time. I hope that Wray or someone else can give you some good advice. Wray's cream is called Natpro, and this is her site, so maybe you should try her product. All the best.

Nov 20, 2014

regarding your battleby: Eli

Dear Bonnie,

I so feel for and with you. A lot of what you write sounds very similar to my story. I'm way better since my medication got adjusted and since I'm in therapy. I was on my lowest on August 19, not quite highest on my weight, but I really didn't like myself at all!!! I know from own experience how frustrating and devasting it is to have all those symptoms. Weight gain, fluid retention, hair loss, no stamina for exercise or if I made it I was very fatigued afterwards for hours/days, made me hate myself most days.For me the right amount of Prozac together with therapy and currently still 10000 Vitamin D once a week improved things greatly. Oh I still have quite a few problems - that's why I want to start with Natpro. But, I don't have the ok from my PCP yet. I have to wait - I must - I promised my husband to follow all directions that I get from my PCP 100%. She knows me best and I trust her.In a little over two months I already lossed almost 15 pounds.Hope you can start with Natpro soon.All best for you,

~Eli

Nov 20, 2014

Decade battle and at my wits end.by: RJ

Bonnie, you are not taking enough progesterone. The small dosage you do take is causing most of your trouble....constant ED. It's a vicious cycle...you have ED all the time and then stress over the troubles which caused more troubles. Adrenals, take 1/2 tsp of Himalayan salt in some water before bed. Sounds like you do not have any salt in your diet and not having it can wreck havoc on our bodies....it needs it to function. Iodine too...really important. Selenium and magnesium, along with K2 need to go along with D3. My family has also had superior results with Linus Paulings Vitamin C therapy. It helps more than just the heart. You may be scared and I know Wray is out of stock but increasing progesterone to upwards to 400 mg a day with continual use may relieve a lot of your trouble...you are on a lot of things I would not take. But that is just my opinion. And do not expect overnight results. All the negatives didn't happen to you overnight so it cannot be resolved overnight either. Hang in there. You will find the combination and things will begin to settle down for you. Remember you will always be tweeking progesterone. God Bless! RJ

Hello to you Wray! Still hanging in there and doing more tests to find our trouble with the hubby. They did rule out pulmonary fibrosis though...thank you Lord. Mom just came out of open heart surgery and we have been trying to deal with that. I am glistening with progesterone...lol. Sat in the doctors office and told him that I needed to forewarn him that before we started talking about mom that I was very emotional because I had run out of my progesterone....he just stared at me. Here's to 2,000 mg a day and the Lord's mercy on us!

Nov 25, 2014

Decade battle and at my wits endby: Wray

Hi RJ I put your comment on a text edit and then forgot to reply until now, sorry! You always have such sound advice, I have missed your comments over the past few weeks and no wonder! You poor soul, plus we're out of stock which isn't helping you at all. I'm so dismayed by this, I know one day we will catch up but at the moment it's going out as soon as it goes in. I'm so pleased your husband does not have PF, that sounded particularly nasty. And now your mother too, what a load you've had on your shoulders. I can't tell you when stock will be in, but Julienne in London carries some and can be contacted via her email here. She has sent some to her daughter in NY to help people in the States with the stock outs, such a clever idea of hers! I'm keeping you in my thoughts and prayers, many blessings, take care Wray

Nov 30, 2014

Decade battle and at my wits end.by: RJ

Hello Wray!Some folks are not open to it....but have you thought about investors. Goodness your site alone and all the stock-out comments would substantiate someone investing into your product. I know some business owners want nothing to do with that...but who knows where it may lead you and your company. But, be sure you have enough supply on hand because the larger the company the higher the stress LOL. 2,000 mg a day would seem like a pea-size of progesterone. I do not see this dilemma for women getting better. Our lives are full of so much stress, toxic foods that we think are not only later to find they are, toxic air that we cannot control and just so many other things. Progesterone, most women will find, will become a lifeline for them. And that probably will stand for men also. Give it time and everyone will want it, including the doctors who bash it now. Your stock out situation is only going to escalate. Because the user's now know that in order to not run out they will work with others and buy a lot of it. That's what I have been doing for some time. But it caught me this month. I spoke with many women in the hospital while mom was there who are having so many problems which are related to high, high estrogen. I gave all of them and continue to, your site. It's the only way they can naturally deal with the change. When I read about so many dying of breast cancer, my heart aches for them and their families. Estrogen, estrogen, estrogen. It may not be the solution for some women, but when I hear an estrogen tumor you know what could have helped them to survive. Take care of yourself. Try and watch that stress load cause boy that is a doozie for all of us...this is why farmers all live so long...they walk out of the house when the rooster crows and you don't see them again until dusk. Their lunches consist of apples, sandwiches with meat they slaughtered, milk from Bessie who they milked that morning and maybe even a cookie and they live to the ripe ol' age of 100 or more lol. I put almost ten pounds back on with all this ordeal...stress eater here lol....but hopefully things will fall back to some normalcy and I'll be able to keep up with all the comments. God Bless you Wray! RJ

Dec 01, 2014

Decade battle and at my wits end.by: Wray

Hi RJ! At this point I feel like finding a buyer! I really need to get my hands dirty, i.e. farming, or even something smaller that I could manage alone. Gardening is an option, but not challenging enough. And yes so, so much stress, progesterone definitely has a place and I hope you're right. I have even suggested to some women that they share a 20 tube box, cheaper too. Glad you do that, but I can understand you being caught out with all you have on your mind. Bless you for telling others about our site. Love your description of the farmer! It's a hard life but if organic, how natural is that compared to the lives most of us live. Take care RJ, and many blessings!

Dec 01, 2014

Decade battle and at my wits end.by: RJ

"If you want to be happy a short time, get drunk; happy for a long time, fall in love; happy forever, take up gardening." ;) Chinese proverb

You're on the right track with that gardening, Wray! Have a blessed Christmas if we don't chit-chat before then! God Bless! RJ

Dec 02, 2014

Chinese proverbby: Wray

Hi RJ I do love that Chinese proverb! I have a list of quotes I love, it's definitely going to join the others. Many blessings to you, I do hope your family recovers soon, and a blessed Christmas too! Take care Wray

Although this web site is not intended to be prescriptive, it is intended, and hoped, that it will induce in you a sufficient level of scepticism about some health care practices to impel you to seek out medical advice that is not captive to purely commercial interests, or blinded by academic and institutional hubris. You are encouraged to refer any health problem to a health care practitioner and, in reference to any information contained in this web site, preferably one with specific knowledge of progesterone therapy.